Transforming the Soul Through Meditation

I’d like to share with you what I believe to be one of the easiest and most accessible avenues to transformation by God’s word: Scriptural meditation. Meditation is a simple yet impactful practice. The C.S. Lewis Institute defines Biblical meditation as 

“the activity of calling to mind, and thinking over, and dwelling on, and applying to oneself, the various things that one knows about the works and ways and purposes and promises of God…”

Simply put, to meditate on Scripture is to reflect on or ponder a small portion of God’s Word for an extended amount of time.

Christian meditation is unlike eastern meditation which aims for the emptying of the mind and instead aims for us to fill our mind with God, his truth and his promises.

For instance, recently I have been reading slowly through the book of Philippians.  A few days ago I started reading chapter two which in the New Living Translation  starts with this question:

Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? 

I continued to read the chapter but before I closed my Bible, I went back to verse one above.

I thought about that question- a lot. Although I have read that verse many times over the years, I have never stopped and asked myself to answer that question. As I closed my Bible, I continued to ask myself that question. I thought about what it means to belong to Christ. I thought about encouragement. I continued to ask myself throughout the day, all the ways I could think of that I have personally received encouragement from belonging to Christ.  

As you might imagine, by simply meditating on the passage and the answers, my mind was filled with encouragement throughout the day! God’s promises and encouragement filled my heart, mind and soul. And because my thoughts were occupied with good things, I had no room for stressful, unhelpful, or otherwise negative, unwanted and unneeded thoughts. No wonder Psalm 1 says that the person who meditates and delights in God’s word is blessed!

As you can see, this kind of meditation is not complicated but it is beneficial in many ways. 

Here are just a few ways you may benefit from being intentional about meditating on Scripture:

1. Your mind is filled with the thoughts of God and his promises 

2. Your mind is set on things above (Col. 3:2) and renewed (Romans 12:2)

3. Your heart is turned to prayer and praise

4. You are more likely to memorize the Scripture that you meditate on

5. You entering into the promises of God (Psalm 1)

If you haven’t engaged in Scripture in this way, I hope you will give it a try.  

Here are a few ideas to help you get started:

1. If you are already in a reading or devotional plan, pick a verse or portion from your reading to intentionally stop and think about. Take that verse with you throughout your day. Recall it or keep it in the front of your mind as much as you can. Ponder and reflect on the words, thoughts and ideas.

2. If you are not already following a reading or devotional plan, simply pick out a verse or portion of the Bible that catches your attention. If you want, you can even search the internet by looking up “popular Bible verses” or something similar.

3. Stick with your verses for one day, a week or longer.  As long as it is impacting you, stay with it.

4. Use sticky notes to help you remember your verse.

5. Engage with others. Do you have a soul friend or discipleship group that you could share with? If you do, this will help deepen your engagement and bless others as well!

Let us be intentional in taking small steps that open our souls to the transforming power of God’s word as it enters deeply into our hearts and minds. 

Enjoy the journey!

Oxygen for Your Soul: Breath Prayers

Do you experience worry, anxiety, overwhelm, or trouble staying present in the moment? Do you desire to feel more connected to God on a daily basis? If you answered yes to any of the above, then Breath Prayers may be for you.

I was first introduced to Breath Prayers in my spiritual direction training last year. Since then, I have slowly made them a part of my rhythm of life. I have found them calming, grounding, helpful, and encouraging. As a Spiritual Director, I have shared them with my directees, family, and friends, and now I’d like to share them with you! 

In Breath Prayer Guides by Bill Gaultiere, Breath Prayers are described as “a simple yet powerful practice to turn our rhythm of breathing in and out into a continual conversation with God.” Simply put, Breath Prayers are a way of taking deep, slow, intentional breaths as you inhale God’s word in and slowly out.

One of my favorite Breath Prayers is from the 23rd Psalm. This psalm is a favorite when I feel stressed from traffic (I live in Los Angeles!), overwhelmed with tasks, or feel the need to be in control in some area of my life. When I get any of those types of feelings creeping into my mind or showing up in my body, I first breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that I can find immediate help with a simple Breath Prayer. Here is how it works:

1. I take a slow, intentional, deep breath as I say to myself, “The Lord is my Shepherd.”

2. I slowly exhale, releasing tension as I say to myself, “I have no need.”

3. I repeat until I feel the undesired feelings lessen or disappear. 

My usual experience is to feel relief from the unwanted feelings. I have also found that it reorients my mind to the truths of God’s word and His presence with me. It’s a win, win!

There are many choices for Breath Prayers; here are a few of my favorites:

(Breathe in) Peace…(Breathe out) Be still…

(Breathe in) More of Jesus…(Breathe out) Less of me…

(Breathe in) Fear not… (Breathe out) God is my (Confidence, Helper, Shepherd)

When I have a little more time, I love to use this one at home where I find a quiet and comfortable place and close my eyes.

Breathe in God’s word, breathe out stress.

Be still and know that I am God

Be still and know I AM

Be still and know

Be still

Be

I always feel more relaxed and peaceful after that one!

If you would like more information on Breath Prayers, please feel free to contact me at care@intentionallyordinary.com, or you can get more information from the Breath Prayer Guides by Bill Galtiere at Soul Shepherding’s website.

I hope you will try them and intentionally bring more peace, calm, and time with God into your life.

Enjoying the journey together!

Valerie

For more breath prayers

We include breath prayers in almost everything we do because we’ve experienced their incredible power and simplicity. Our Habit Formation Workbook includes a breath prayer for each habit of the body, and our Half-Day Spiritual Retreat Guide integrates a section where you can create your own breath prayer. We hope you get to experience the power of breath prayers with these incredible spiritual formation resources. Check them out!

Contemplative Prayer: Finding Rest and Direction

I just recently finished reading Jan Johnson’s When the Soul Listens, Finding Rest and Direction in Contemplative Prayer.

Is rest and direction something your heart longs for?

As a Spiritual Director, I hear many different versions of the desire to find rest and direction. Overworked, overwhelmed and overspent are feelings that are all too familiar.  Uncertainty, anxiety and decision fatigue weary our souls.

In her book, Jan describes contemplative prayer as “prayer in which we still our thoughts and emotions, and focus on God’s own self in an unhurried way”. As I read the description I am reminded how stillness and focus are so often lacking in our lives. Our world does not call us to rest. Many times physical rest is only a reaction to exhaustion. If we are resting our bodies, we are often not resting our minds but instead filling our minds with the images and noise of social media, news or entertainment. What about unhurried? Calm, peace and quiet often elude us.  We are so busy achieving, producing, performing and experiencing that our lives feel more like hamster wheels or treadmills than actual living.  

In contemplative prayer we are invited to slow down and rest and just be. In this practice, we are given space for transformation of the inner life. As our inner life is transformed, the outer world around us begins to have less of a grip on our lives. We can experience inner calm while living in a world that is going at a frenetic pace. 

“To sit in silence before God restores the soul.”

— William Barclay

If you would like to spend some time in contemplative prayer, below are some suggested ways to begin:

1. Plan on setting aside approximately 10 minutes to rest your mind and body.

2. Find a quiet place where you can be distraction free.

3. Choose a scripture verse, phrase or truth to meditate on.

4. Close your eyes and just be.

5. Allow distracting thoughts pass as you focus your mind on the things of God (scripture, verse, truth, character of God, etc).

6. Allow yourself to listen.

7. End your time with gratitude.

The above steps are meant to be a guide as a way to pay attention to God. It is meant to simply be a time to “quiet ourselves and simply enjoy God’s presence.”

Let us take steps to intentionally care for our souls, and make space for peace and joy at a deep and abiding level. 

Decluttering Your Inner Life

Recently, here at Intentionally Ordinary, we have been doing some reorganizing and decluttering in our closets and kitchen drawers. We have been taking small steps that are making a big difference. At the end of last year, we were starting to feel those uncomfortable feelings that come from disorganization and clutter; feelings of frustration, irritation and annoyance, to name a few. 

Just like external clutter in our homes or work environments can have negative effects on our lives, the same is true for internal soul clutter. Signs of soul clutter can include stress, worry, irritability, anxiety, depression and more (if needed, please see a medical professional if you are struggling in this area). Even if you are not experiencing any of these feelings, it is always a good idea to include soul declutter as a regular part of your soul care.

Here are some easy and practical steps for decluttering your soul:

1. Set aside a small chunk of time to spend in silence and solitude. Quiet your mind and body and allow yourself to pay attention to what feelings and thoughts surface.

2. Ask questions such as: Is there something that is bothering me? Someone I need to forgive? Something I need to give up? Something I need to change?

3. Invite Jesus into this time of searching and again pay attention to your thoughts and feelings. 

4. End your time with space to just relax and breathe. So often our souls are in need of rest and time to just be without pressure or criticism. Allow yourself to relax and enjoy the moment.

5. Respond by writing down what you have discovered and make a plan. It is also a good idea to share with a soul friend to help you further process or provide accountability.

So often we just need to stop and pay attention. When we make this a regular practice, we will often find we are more at peace, more content and less overwhelmed by daily life.

Another great resource for soul decluttering is to meet with a Spiritual Director. As a trained listener, your Director can help you identify areas of your life that are disordered or unattended to, that cause feelings of distress or unease. It is also a time for you to receive empathy and clarity and rest for your soul.

Let’s be intentional to take small steps, together, towards happier, healthier souls!

An Invitation to Listen to God

Here at Intentionally Ordinary we believe in the importance of caring for your soul. It might sound daunting, but I promise it’s not another thing to add to your to do list. Rather, nourishing your soul is about learning together and taking one small step at a time. Soul care includes slowing down, observation, awareness and listening.

In my first blog post, Intentional Attention we explored paying attention as an act of love.  In my second blog post, Reflection: a Spiritual Practice for your Soul, we looked at paying attention to your life as a way of loving and caring for your soul. Hopefully, you are beginning to see the importance of paying attention as a way of soul care — paying attention to what I give my attention to and paying attention to my life and what is happening in it.

I want to encourage us to be intentional in strengthening our listening skills as a way of paying attention. Each day, each moment, choosing to be intentional about listening as a way of caring for our souls.

Today I would like to share with you a way of paying greater attention to what we read in the Bible. This way of engaging with scripture is known as Lectio Divina. Lectio Divina is Latin for “divine reading.” I think it sounds really fancy but in fact it is simply a way of slowing down and paying attention to scripture as a way of listening to God. I like to think of it as a way that helps me pay attention at a soul level. 

Before we begin, I just want to remind you that paying attention in our scripture reading happens in many different ways and that Lectio is just a tool to help us in that endeavor. It is a rhythm that has been nourishment for my soul, and I hope it will be the same for yours.

Pick a portion of scripture to read and meditate on. It can be anything, but I recommend something that is either already familiar to you or a portion that makes sense to read in a chunk (2-5 verses). After picking my reading, I like to take time to pray and prepare my heart and mind to receive from God.

The rhythm of Lectio is to read, reflect, respond, rest:

1. Read your chosen portion of scripture.

2. Pick out a word or phrase that stood out to you and reflect (meditate) on that.

3. Read your chosen portion a second time and offer a prayer to God regarding the word or phrase that stands out to you.

4. Read your portion a third time and then rest (contemplate) and consider what is God’s personal invitation to you from the Scripture or simply spend some time in quiet rest, enjoying peace and calm.

If you like to journal, this is a great time to write down what you learned during the exercise.  Recently, I Lectio-ed my way through the book of Romans and it was so fun and interesting to read my notes when I was done. This was a process that was slow (several months) and intentional and nourishing to my soul. I loved it so much that now I am popping over to the book of Philippians!

If you want more information or more direction, here is a link to a Lectio Divina guide with over 50 Scripture portions along with guided questions and prompts.

Here’s to listening well on our journey!

Reflection: a Spiritual Practice For Your Soul

I wasn’t paying attention. How many times have you heard that? Said that? It’s a common phrase to say or hear and I might even suggest that it is a perfectly fine thing to say. We understand it when someone says it — because we’ve all done it. We’ve all failed to pay attention at one time or another. 

In my previous blog post, “Intentional Attention” I briefly explored the connection between attention and love. My suggestion was that the intentional giving of attention was an expression of love to others. Here, I would like to explore the idea of paying attention through reflection as a way of loving and nourishing your soul.

Reflection is a normal part of our human experience but comes in many different forms and expressions. It’s not unusual for someone to ask, “How was your day?”. To answer that question we need to reflect or think back on the events of the day. Reflection is unique to each person. Some people would say they reflect a lot.  I have friends who say they are almost constantly thinking about how an event in their day played out and how they did or didn’t perform. I have other friends who when you ask them questions that require reflection will almost certainly reply, “I don’t know.”

The intention and purpose of the practice of reflection is to nourish your soul. It is not important whether you are naturally good at it or not.

About two years into my spiritual direction journey, reflection became my friend. At that time, I was in a monthly spiritual direction group with two strong, grounded Christian women whom I greatly admired. When they spoke, I paid attention. In this particular session, both of the women shared stories of recent events in their lives. Each woman — separately— mentioned the inclusion of reflection in their stories. The word caught my attention and I felt a Holy Spirit nudge to investigate this more.

Immediately upon finishing the session, I hopped on Google and searched “reflection for Christians.” The first thing that popped up was a familiar name and title, The Next Right Thing Guided Journal by Emily P. Freeman. I had been listening to her podcast on and off over the years and had also read one of her earlier books, Grace For the Good Girl. So, I did the “one click” checkout on Amazon and the guided journal was on its way. 

That happened less than two years ago, and it changed my life.

The Next Right Thing Guided Journal helps me be intentional about using the practice of reflection. This spiritual practice helps me pay attention to my life and what God is doing in it.  I like what Emily says in the beginning of the journal,

“The practice of looking back and paying attention serves as an anchor for the soul in a fast-moving world. Instead of waiting for the world to stop so we can catch up, we slow ourselves, look around and name what we see.”

This guided journal is arranged to be used for one year and you can start at any time. I use it weekly for just a few minutes each time. Because of the way it is formatted, I am able to go back and read over my entries as a way of remembering what I have been learning each week, month, and season. If this sounds interesting to you, please check it out here. Do some exploring and you will see why this book is listed as one of the items on our Resources for Nourishing Your Soul blog post. Alisa also loved the book with the same title. In fact, she listed it as one of her favorite books of 2022!

If this journal isn’t for you, there are many other ways to practice reflection. 

Here are a few:

*The Prayer of Examen — here is a link to an article from Soul Shepherding explaining how to use the prayer of examen and its benefits.

*Reflection by journaling — if you already journal, this may be a great idea for you. You can practice reflection by going back in your journal and highlighting things like answered prayers, challenges, life-giving events and life-draining events, or simply highs and lows.

Speaking of highs and lows, this is one way we have been using reflection during our Sabbath dinner —

*High, Low, Buffalo — on Friday nights, after our Sabbath meal, we will often go around the table and listen to each adult share the highlight of their week, the low point in their week and something surprising (Buffalo!) that happened during their week. 

Reflection can be fun or serious but most importantly it can be nourishing to your soul.  Here are some of the ways reflection has benefitted me:

*Lessening my anxiety — by looking back on the good things and the God things, it helps my brain move away from anxiety-producing thoughts.

*Identifying positive and negative patterns in my life — when I can identify these patterns, it helps me to be intentional to choose life-giving activities and make changes regarding life-draining activities.

*Becoming more aware of God’s presence — when I am being intentional to look back over my days, weeks, and months through the lens of what God is doing in my life, I am able to feel closer and more connected to Him which is also a great source of inner peace and comfort.

Each of our souls are invaluable and in need of attention.  I hope you will consider the simple practice of reflection as a way of loving and nourishing your soul.

Intentional Attention

““The first act of love is always in the giving of attention.” ”

— Dallas Willard

Have you ever paid attention to what you are paying attention to? I’d like to recommend that you give it a try or at least think about it.

I came across the above Dallas Willard quote recently and well, it caught my attention and I began to wonder — what is the connection between love and attention?

Let’s start with some thoughts on attention.

Attention is defined as “the regarding of someone or something as interesting or important.”

What I’ve discovered in my wonderings about attention is that my attention is constantly being vied for from my phone, billboards (such is life in LA), ads on TV and social media, as well as a host of other places. Images are screaming at me to “regard them as interesting or important”. As you are probably aware, soon after the rise of the internet, the smartphone, and social media, we began to hear of terms like “attention economy” and “distraction addiction”. This is the world we now live in.

Now, what about love?

As a follower of Jesus, I am to be growing into a person of love like Jesus. The greatest commandment is to love God and love my neighbor as myself (Matthew 22:37-40). And there’s more!

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.”

— John 13:34

“Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”

— 1 John 4:11

“And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony”

— Colossians 2:14

Now some thoughts on using our attention to love God and others. First, I need to be paying attention to God. Some ways that come to mind is through prayer, praise, and reading the Bible. What about loving others? Jesus modeled love by means of attention to all and every kind of people. When we pay attention to people, it is an act of love, because even without words, we are communicating that they are important.

In conclusion, by being intentional with our attention, we can bring more love into our relationships, our homes, our communities, and our world. I hope you will join me today in taking this small step to make the world a better place simply by the giving of your and my attention.

Soul Care for the Holidays

The holiday season can be filled with fun and merriment, laughter with friends, singing old familiar songs, and participating in favorite traditions of times past. This time of year can also be filled with financial stressors, heightened depression, anxiety and emotions, disappointments and fatigue.

The very nature of the season makes it a good time to be intentional about caring for and nourishing your soul. As good as that sounds, it may also bring up more stress just thinking about adding one more thing to your to do list.  That is why today we are going to look at ways to nourish your soul without adding something to your already full holiday schedule.

Each of the gentle suggestions below can be done as you wind down your day and lay your head on your pillow.

• End the day with gratitude - with a bigger to do list than normal, we can find ourselves focused on all the things that we need to do the following day or frantically remembering what didn’t get done. Instead of allowing your mind to focus on these things, end the day with a gratitude list. Pick, 5, 10 or even 15 things that you are thankful for. It’s not so much about the number, but rather about sending your thoughts down the pathway of gratitude. Ending the day with gratitude not only ends your day on a positive note, but it can also make the way for peaceful sleep as well as a pleasant way to start the next morning.

• Receive empathy- maybe your day was not so great — you yelled at your kids, were not so nice to your husband and you found yourself more like the grinch than you’d like to admit. It’s times like these when we need to go to Jesus for empathy. My experience is that this is not a normal thing we think of to do during prayer. It’s quite simple and effective. Go to Jesus and tell him how you feel — be honest and vulnerable with all the feels. Then listen. Think about how Jesus understands and how he loves you. Spend your last waking moments basking in the love of Jesus.

• Prayer of Examen- in its simplest form, this prayer is about looking back over your day and looking for those times and moments that you can identify God being with you, leading you, or helping you. This prayer can go much deeper, but my suggestion for the holiday season is to simply take a few moments to reflect back and look for God’s touch in your day.

Hopefully these ideas do not feel like one more thing to do but rather feel like a intentional peaceful way to end your day. Try one, two or all three. Mix it up! Do what feels good to your soul and experience a healthier, happier soul.

Resources for Nourishing Your Soul

Alright, you’re on the journey with us to care more intentionally for your soul. Where do you start? What does soul care even mean?

When we care for our souls, we are caring for the deepest, truest part of our being. We are caring for the part that effects all the other parts which in turn impacts the world around us.

Today we’re sharing resources to help get you started on your journey to slowing down and intentionally nourishing your soul.

1. Lectio 365 app - this app is based on the ancient practice of Lectio Divinia. It’s a method of Bible study where one intentionally slows down to listen to the text and listen to what God might be saying through it. Lectio 365 makes this practice easy for the modern age by recording multiple scripture and prayer prompts in both morning and evening segments. Listen to the audio, read through the prompts, or both. Listen to it in the car after school drop off or before the kids wake up, when you go to bed or after dinner. I love this app as a way to spend more intentional time in Scripture without the effort of figuring out what I should read. I can just let it wash over me and nourish my soul with ease.

2. Soul Shepherding - this ministry is founded by a married couple who each have a doctorate in psychology. They have an abundance of resources and training to help your soul to thrive. Check them out on instagram @soulshepherding or at www.soulshepherding.org

3. Practicing the Way - this website is one of our absolute favorite resources for getting started with and establishing spiritual practices. It’s practical and helpful and a wealth of information. It includes a helpful Rule of Life builder where you can put together some simple principles you’d like to live by to grow into the person you want to be.

4. Our Favorite Books for Soul Nourishment:

   1. Live No Lies and The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer - In Live No Lies, John Mark tackles the heavy but important topic of spiritual warfare and offers practical advice for how to use scripture to support mental health. And in The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, he discusses hurry sickness and offers a solution to slow down in our busy world.

   2. The Next Right Thing and The Next Right Thing Guided Journal by Emily P. Freeman - this book is primarily designed to unburden the decision making process, but Emily has so much amazing advice packed into it that can apply to any season of life. The accompanying guided journal is a place to thoughtfully think through the seasons you’re in and approach what’s upcoming with intention.

   3. Chasing Slow by Erin Loechner - in this memoir we see how Erin moved from a frenzied life to the life of her dreams. One filled with simplicity and intention. Although not specifically on soul care, this book encouraged me to take a look inward for outward results.

   4. Rhythms of Renewal by Rebekah Lyons - learn how to intentionally create, connect, rest, and restore in this easy read. Each chapter ends with helpful suggestions on how to grow in each area.

      
      *all of these books link to amazon, but we highly recommend shopping secondhand via Thrift Books or PangoBooks, or by visiting your local bookstore!

5. We’ve created a few guides to help you along your spiritual formation and soul care journey! Check out our Retreat Guide if you’d like to set aside intentional time with God or our Habit Formation Guide if you want to start developing regular rhythms of connecting with God in your everyday life.

We hope these resources act as a springboard for your growth and journey into soul nourishment. Inspiration and information are so important, but taking the next step is essential in formation. Reach out to us and let us know the next step you’ll be taking and how we can support you along the way!